A Zoo Story
by MiriamTodd321
Summary: Australia goes to Israel to see the construction of the new zoo that will be featuring animals from his country. He also meets the country herself, and get's to know the spunky Middle Eastern girl. /Shot for sucky summary
1. Chapter 1

I knew I should have flown in later. It might be the afternoon back home, but it was early morning in the state of Israel. Now if only I could find out how to get around-

"Jacob Kirkland, right?" My head whipped around when I heard my name, looking around for the speaker. A man in an army green uniform waved to me, holding up a sign in English. I walked out of customs, mentally sighing in relief. Ben Gurion Airport was pretty packed, despite the fact that it was three in the morning. Dragging my bags after me, I grinned broadly as I walked over to him.

"You must be Israel." I said, extending a hand forward. "Nice to meet ya!" My eyebrows flew up my face when he put his hands up quickly, shaking his head.

"No no no, I'm just your military escort. You can call me Yonatan." He replied in thickly accented English, taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

"Oh, really? Do I really need an escort Yona?" I asked, watching as he took a few of my bags. I'm not a kid after all, I'm a continent.

"Until you meet Israel, yes. And why are you calling me Yona?" He started walking, leading me past the other newcomers and into the terminal.

"Yonatan, Yona." I explained shortly, transferring my attention to the terminal. Signs in multiple languages could be seen, and I could people conversing in a foreign tongue. Yonatan continued through the doors, stopping before a car. We both started packing my bags in, before climbing into the car. I climbed into the passengers side, waiting for Yonatan to start driving.

"So..." I started, looking out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Am I going to be staying in Jerusalem?"

The man started laughing, shaking his head again. "Nope. You'll be staying with Israel in Haifa Hof-Carmel." He explained, looking out at the road. "Which is a surprise..."

I blinked, frowning slightly. "Why's it a surprise?"

"I've never known Israel to just let strangers stay with her." He murmured, shrugging. "The United States only came to stay at herher house recently...and he's one of her closest friends." I stared at him, before turning back to the window.

"That is weird..." I admitted quietly.

"Ah well. She probably doesn't see you as a threat." I whipped around to frown at him, seeing a small smile tug at his lips.

"I find that insulting, since I'm the biggest country around." I muttered, huffing slightly. Yonatan chuckled, looking at me.

"No one that looks like a teenager is a threat to her." He said, grinning.

"And what about the United States?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. His gaze flicked to me for a split second, before he shrugged.

"She says she isn't worried." He murmured after a moment, giving me a guarded look. "You should try and rest. You had a long flight, and we're still pretty far away." I nodded slowly, leaning back against my seat. My eyes shut a little more reluctantly, but I fell asleep as soon as they closed.

"Mr. Kirkland. Mr. Kirkland, we're here." I opened my eyes, glancing around dazedly. Yonatan leaned over me, waving a hand in front of me.

"I'm awake." I sat up, waiting for him to move before getting up. Looking around, I yawned tiredly before grabbing my bags out of the car. The man took one bag before leading me me up to a house. He rapped on it loudly, before stepping back. A loud crashing could be heard on the other side, making my escort step back again. It finally stopped, and a silence followed. To my surprise, Yonatan swallowed nervously and knocked again. Before he could pull his hand back, the door flew open and a hand grabbed his, yanking him forward slightly. A short girl who looked about my age walked out, a glare on her features. She was growling at Yonatan, unknown threats tumbling from her lips. I watched the two, keeping a safe distance from them till the man turned back to me.

"I'll be leaving you now. Boker Tov." He saluted to me, then saluted her before walking back to the car. The engine started, and I watched the car disappear, leaving me alone with this girl. She frowned after the car, before blowing out an exasperated breath.

"Australia, right?" I turned to face the girl, looking her over. Messy brown covered most of her face, and she had hastily pulled on her uniform; the wrinkled fabric stood out even in the dim morning light. Something white was on her face, but I couldn't tell what it was in the dark. I held back a chuckle when I saw that she wasn't even wearing shoes.

"-stralia? Good gracious. Jacob Kirkland!" I blinked, my gaze transferring to her face.

"Yeah. Are you Israel?" I asked, though I was pretty sure it was.

She nodded, shooing me inside. "The one and only. Come on, it's bedtime." Israel grabbed my bags, kicking the door closed behind her. I looked around the house, trying to locate the clock.

"Bedtime? It's about 1 at my place. In the PM." She grabbed my arm, dragging me.

"You just had a long flight. Bed." Tugging me along, she led me up a short flight of stairs, walking along a hallway till we stopped in front of a room. "It's going to take you a bit to get used to my time anyway."

I nodded reluctantly, walking inside. She yawned, turning to go.

"Wait. What's your name, and what's for breakfast?" I asked, grabbing her arm. She pulled away quickly, a horrified look passing over her face momentarily.

"I'll tell you both when I wake up. Boker Tov." The door closed on me, and I heard footsteps retreating.

"And what does 'Boker Tov' mean?" There was no answer. I blew out my breath, flopping down on the bed.

"Are all Israelis like this?" I asked myself, looking at the clock in my room. 4:56. "Maybe at this time of morning..." Closing my eyes, I tried to fall asleep. I think I succeeded...


	2. Chapter 2

Israel P.O.V

The sunlight streaming through my window woke me up a couple of hours later. Stretching, I climbed out of bed, tugging down the long t-shirt I wore to sleep. I kicked my uniform to the side, before pausing.

"Why is my uniform on the ground?" I murmured to myself, picking it up and tossing it into the hamper. It really felt like I was forgetting something…oh well. "If it's important I'll remember it later." I walked into the kitchen, singing under my breath. The bags in the hall momentarily captured my attention, but I shook it off on my quest to get some food.

"Eggs…salad…coffee…" The small space was soon filled with the smell of food cooking and coffee brewing, not to mention the music I had turned on. A thump upstairs made me jerk, whirling around to stare at the ceiling. Another loud sound followed, along with a few loud words. I opened a cabinet, pulling out a handgun and checking for bullets. The sounds continued, and I heard a door opening. Footsteps resounded along the hallway, drawing closer and closer to the stairs. Turning the safety off, I hid around the corner, waiting for the person to show. A brunette appeared in my vision, his back to me as he stretched.

"Hey, food's on." He muttered in English, taking the coffee and the eggs off the stove. Who was this guy? I wondered, turning the safety off but still aiming at him.

"Hey, you." His head whipped around, and he took several steps back when he saw the gun.

"Whoa! Gun, bad! Very bad!" He yelped, putting his hands up. "I'm sorry, I don't speak Hebrew!" I rolled my eyes, walking by him and putting the gun away.

"I speak English you know." I placed a hand on my hip, giving him an indignant look. "And who are you anyway?" Narrowing my eyes slightly, I leaned closer to him, ignoring the blush tinting his cheeks. He looked familiar for some reason. Super tall and muscular(not that I'm paying attention!), bright green eyes, messy brown hair, a bandage on his nose…why did he have to wear his I wonder. Aussie accent, bushy eyebrows, tanned skin…bushy eyebrows and an Aussie accent?

"A-Australia, Jacob Kirkland." He replied in a slightly shaky voice, staring at me like he expected me to pull out another gun. "You let me in earlier…"

I blinked, stepping back as I smacked my forehead. Of course, now I remember! He came in at almost 5 in the morning with Yonatan, interrupting my sleep. I thought he was going to show up later this week, but this was fine too.

"I'm really sorry, I tend to get a bit weird in the morning. It's nice to finally meet you." I said, rubbing my head sheepishly. "I'm Israel; Hadara Shaltiel." His worried look quickly changed to a grin as he extended a hand, shaking mine.

"I understand that. You should see Artie at this time. Not pretty." Jacob chuckled under his breath at this. I nodded in agreement; my time with the Brit was short, but memorable. One of the things I remembered most was his tendency to hate being awoken. I learned from the mistake of attempting to wake him.

"Well, breakfast is up. Sit down and I'll get a few plates." He walked past me and sat down, his eyes still on me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding it back. After a few moments of watching him, I decided to put him out of his misery.

"If you want to say something, just say it." I passed him a plate, pouring two cups of coffee. He grinned, all nervousness gone.

"I didn't know Israelis dressed like that." He murmured, smirking at me. My gaze flickered down, and I could feel my face grow hot. The shirt covered everything up to mid-calf, but that wasn't enough, especially in front of a guy. I excused myself, running back up to my room and practically slamming the door shut.

"I am never letting a guy stay at my house. Ever again." I took the opportunity to change completely; pulling on a clean uniform since I was there, along with a shirt that covered my neck underneath. I lightly ran a hand over the bandage on my cheek, feeling the scar beneath. 'It's going to open again. Eventually.' Taking a deep breath, I walked back downstairs, sitting down to eat. It was quiet at the table, the only sounds were the two of us eating and the occasional chuckle from the Australian.

"So…about the zoo." Jacob pushed away from the table, giving me an expectant look.

"Right, the zoo. The construction is finished. All we need now are the animals." I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"That's all? Not a problem then." He smiled brightly, getting up. I watched as he rummaged through a nearby bag, flinging stuff out. He returned after a moment, passing me a stack of papers.

"My boss wanted you to look this over." I glanced through the papers, running over the names of various animals and plants. "He wanted to make sure everything was there."

"Yeah, looks good." I murmured, passing the paper back to him. He returned it to the bag, continuing to search the bag.

"If that's it, what are we going to do till the animals arrive?" Jacob asked, his back to me. I paused, not sure what to say.

"We could…go walk around." I suggested, glancing at the time. It was still early, plenty of time to show him around anywhere. "Is there anywhere you want to go in particular?"

"Nope. You can lead the way." He glanced back at me, grinning.

"How about this: You go shower and change clothes, and I'll take you to Netanya." Jacob nodded, getting up and jogging upstairs with clothes in arm. I got up slowly; the dishes weren't going to pick up themselves after all. It'd take him a bit to clean up anyway. Might as well get something done, though I hated doing chores

It was about 20 minutes before I heard footsteps resounding down the stairs, signaling that the boy was done. I looked up from the TV just in time to see him barrel into the living room, his hair still wet.

"Okay, let's go see the town!" He exclaimed, a bright grin lighting up his face. I blinked a bit at his excitement, before nodding in agreement, my own face mirroring his now.

"Follow me, and we'll see Netanya." I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door. "By the way, do you want to drive there, or ride the train?" He shrugged, still smiling.

"Either sounds good…but I already had the car ride." He said, taking in a deep breath as we exited the house. "Let's get on the train."

"Sounds good." I stopped on the sidewalk, checking my phone. "But first, we have to walk."


	3. Chapter 3

"And there's Carmel Beach." I looked over, grinning at the sight of people in the water. Surfers could be seen, along with speedboats and sailboats.

"Can we go swimming? I usually swim the Dover Strait, but I've never swam here!" I said, grinning excitedly. Hadara nodded, smiling as well.

"I'll take you somewhere to go swimming before you have to leave." She replied, watching as I made a fake pout. "Come on, we're almost at the station." Hadara continued walking, chuckling to herself. She was an interesting country; more bright and vibrant than I imagined. Shorter too, with brown hair that hit mid-back and Arab toned skin. A bandage covered most of her left cheek…that was probably the thingy I noticed last night.

"Jacob, come on!" I stuck my tongue out at her, running to catch up.

"Calm down pipsqueak, I'm coming." I said, reaching over and flicking her forehead. She rubbed the spot, huffing in annoyance.

"I am not a pipsqueak! And I can't help it if you're a beanpole!" She retorted, punching me in the arm. I winced slightly; she hit hard for such a small girl.

"Better a beanpole than a midget!" I shot back.

"Shrimp!" "Gargantua!" "Midget!" "Giant!" "Shortie!" "Goli-" Her insult cut off. I looked down at her, waiting for her reply.

"Goli what?" She shrugged, not looking at me.

"Giraffe!" I rolled my eyes, following her up to the station.

"What were you really about to say?" I asked, pushing open the door for her. She gave me an odd look, but walked in.

"Not telling." She murmured, grinning. "And stay by me, you are a tourist after all."

"Hey, I'm the best kind of tourist! Just watch!" I walked past her up to the ticket booth, nodding to the person there.

"Hello my good man. Bookair Tuv!" The man blinked in surprise, before grinning.

"Sorry mate. Afraid we don't speak that language here." He replied, in a horrible attempt at my accent. Though I guess I am one to talk...I walked right into it. Hadara was muffling her laughter as she walked to my side, giving the man a card. The two started conversing, before she turned and pushed me towards the gates.

"Here's your ticket." She murmured, passing one to me. "And it's 'Boker Tov.' "

I went through, followed by the other country. "What's that mean anyway? I asked.

"It means good morning. Any other words you'd like to know, mate?" She gave me a triumphant look.

"How do I say you're annoying?" I started to ask, but my question was cut off as the train pulled in. Looking around, I was taken aback by the soldiers I saw around. They were everywhere as far as I could tell! Hadara noticed my confused look and nudged me, getting my attention back. We climbed on, the other quickly securing seats. There were even more soldiers on board, with a good number of them armed with assault rifles.

"Hadara, what's with all the soldiers? Are you fighting some unknown war?" She shrugged, resting her chin on her palm.

"I prefer to say, we're always prepared." She mumbled finally, staring up at me. I stared back, my gaze locked with hers.

"Can I ask a question?" We said simultaneously, before breaking into identical grins.

"You first." I looked at her expectantly, watching her clear her throat.

"That bandage on your nose, what's it from?" Hadara asked curiously, reaching forward and squeezing my nose. I smacked her hand away, rolling my eyes at her laughter.

"If you must know, it's from Gallipoli." I muttered, rubbing my nose.

"Oh…is there a scar?" She murmured, looking at me with slightly pitying eyes.

"Yup, wanna see?" Before she could answer, I pulled the bandage up, revealing the large scar crossing my nose. She leaned closer, staring at it closely before sitting down again.

"Not too shabby indeed." She replied, grinning.

"Now, I want to know about that bandage on your cheek." I poked her cheek, grinning as she jerked backwards.

"This is the result of my constant feud." She murmured, pulling it off. Four lines adorned her cheek, jagged in appearance. I whistled low, looking over it.

"Now that's a beauty." I said, leaning back.

"Nope. Nothing beautiful about it." Hadara muttered under her breath. A loud ding sounded, followed by a voice coming over the intercom.

"That's our cue. Come on giraffe." She stood up, walking towards the doors. I followed her quickly, not wanting to get separated. The train slowly ground to a halt; and people started getting out. I got caught in the crowd; being pushed and pulled in several directions. "Jacob, where are you?" I could her Hadara call, but couldn't see her at all.

"Scuse me! Need to get out!" I tried, but only succeeded in being pushed back. The ding sounded again, and I could only watch helplessly as the doors closed. I could only stare out the window as the train pulled away from the station, Hadara staring after me with a horrified expression.

"Um…err…" I turned to the nearest person, tapping on their shoulder. "Excuse me, where's this train headed now?"

"Herzliyya." The person replied, smiling. "And then, Tel Aviv-Yafo."

"But I need to get to Netanya!" I protested, staring out the window as the train left the station.

"That was Netanya. You have to get off at the next stop, and go the opposite way." The person waved, before walking off. I nodded slowly, trying to get my bearings now.

"Okay, I'll just call her…if I had her number." I moved around the train, sitting down stiffly. "This is not good, not good at all…" I was stuck on a train headed somewhere I didn't know about, and I didn't know how to get to Netanya. I really only had one idea at this point. Pulling out my phone, I flipped through my contacts. Stopping at a number, I pressed call. The phone rang once, twice, three times before someone picked up.

"Jacob?" The person muttered sleepily, his English accent thick with sleep.

"Yeah, hey Artie." I murmured, rubbing my head sheepishly. "Look, I need your help. How do you get to Netanya from…Hertziya? I think…"


End file.
